Diaries

The Nojima Rise began their regular season with a resounding win over the Bulls football club, 84-0. Devin Gardner threw for three touchdowns, and ran for three more.

Naoki Arai ran back the opening kickoff for Nojima, and the Rise scored touchdowns on every possesion except for an interception of Gardner on their second series.

With the lopsided nature of the game, the three Michigan Wolverine alumni saw intermittent action. Mario Ojemudia (wearing #53) had three tackles, including a fumble recovery, while Sione Houma (#39) picked up 9 yards on four carries.

Devin Gardner (again wearing #98), seems to be feeling comfortable in his second year in Japan, as he completed 7 of 10 passed for 141 yards and three TDs and one INT, and also picked up 27 yards on five carries running the ball.

Gardner only played in the first half, as the Rise led 56-0 at halftime. He has taken on the role of training his two backup QBs by "trying to create some chaos in practice, so they don't get so rattled in games."

Gardner said he enjoyed the the chance to play live, "It was good to get our feet wet, because I hadn't been hit at all since spring," and was glad to see the start of the regular season. He said Sione and Mario would probably prefer to have played a little stiffer competition. They'll certainly get that chance in their next game on September 17th, when they take on perennial powerhouse Obic Seaguls.

With the time difference and a game scheduled that afternoon, they were only able to catch the second half (lucky them!) of the Michigan win over Florida, but they were quite pleased with the result and the directions both Michigan and their own team seem to be headed.

So another season has kicked off, and that means another weekly column full of animated gifs and corny jokes. As always, this idea is inspired by Brandon Stroud’s excellent Best and Worst of wrestling columns. And for the record, there’s a partially written season preview somewhere deep on my computer. Like an unreleased album, it’s full of the hottest tracks that will totally make sense when you hear them after I’m gone. Like, watch out for my hot take on freshmen punters in 2060.

Best: Kids and Play

At the risk of sounding even more hacky than usual, I've solidly entered into the "Dad with small kids" part of one's life. If you’ve read, well, basically any sports column in a newspaper ever, you’ve come across this type of meandering prose, this navel-gazing ode to middle-school soccer games with orange slices and kids playing “for the love of the game”, or how being a parent changes the way you look at life and maybe, just maybe, sports don’t mean that much in the grand scheme of things and we should all just relax (until the next opportunity arrives to sermonize, like player compensation, kneeling during the national anthem, satellite camps, etc.). And I’m not going to lie, going from a 32-year-old with no kids and some money to a 36-year-old with 2 kids and no money changes your worldview. I rarely watch full games in real-time anymore, for example; children are tolerant of you ignoring them for a drive or two, but the fifth time they hear a Capital One credit card promo, they’re out. And you do find yourself more tolerant of mishaps on the field, because as cliche as it sounds, these are someone’s kids out there, ostensibly playing a game for your enjoyment, and isn’t trying to ruin your day by throwing a pick-six or missing a tackle.

So this is a long-winded way of saying that I missed most of the first half of this game, instead chasing around a 3.5-year-old and a 1.5-year-old around a playground. So while Grant Perry was getting an unsportsmanlike penalty for spinning a football, and Kekoa Crawford had a ball bounce of his fingertips into the waiting arms of a Florida DB, and Speight threw another pick-six that sailed over the head of Tacopants, I was sprinting across woodchips and sand, trying to keep one kid from flying off a swing and the other from tumbling down a slide or trying to eat a dead bee he found on the ground. All the while, I’m frantically refreshing ESPN.com and following bits of comments on Twitter, aware that Very Bad Things are happening but not being able to do much about it. And yet, by the time I got back home, Michigan was driving for the go-ahead score and the game was effectively done.

*****

Watching Michigan like season is going to feel like parenting to me, most likely. Most of the time, it’s going to run smoothly; diapers will be changed, lunches eaten, blocks executed, and passes defended. And the world will be beautiful and predictable, if a bit stressful. But then there will be those moments when the world seems to be falling apart, where I’m trying to pry a dead bee from a kid’s hand while a receiver runs the complete opposite direction of a playcall, or my daughter is testing the bounds of safe swing rotation while the right side of the offensive line tries to block the left. This team is so impossibly young at some positions, so inexperienced, that the question isn’t when the hiccups will rear their heads, only how often and how manageable.

Watching Michigan systematically dismantle the two-time SEC East champions for the second time in 3 seasons, it’s hard not to see this year being special. College football is full of teams that don’t arrive on schedule, so while everyone is saying 2018 is the year Michigan makes a run at the playoffs, this year absolutely has the potential to kick off that coronation early. Michigan’s offense was disjointed for long stretches of the game; they still put up 26 points on a top-10 defense and were running out the clock midway through the 3rd quarter when it became clear Florida wasn’t going to mount a serious threat. Wilton Speight had a pretty rough game under center, the running game had more success on 3rd down than 1st…and Michigan still finished with 433 yards (a 6 ypp average). The secondary, undergoing basically a complete overhaul after the departure of 4 seniors, barely skipped a beat, stymying Florida’s attempts at moving the ball in the air, while the front 7 crushed the skeleton of Florida’s ground attack. It was an ass-kicking that still leaves you uneasy, like when you’ve been able to watch a football game for 15 minutes without interruption and oh gawd why aren’t the kids making noise?!?!?

We still won’t know much about this team until they go to Happy Valley, but Michigan handled it’s first major test without too much trouble (save for a 4-ish minute stretch that is unlikely to be a trend), and now they’ve got a couple of weeks to sand down the rough edges.

Best: Closing The Door

Florida’s offense wasn’t going to be all that good this year even before Jordan Scarlett and Antonio Callaway thought credit card fraud was a sound decision for making a couple extra bucks. But still, this was a display of defensive domination that was still shocking. Consider this: Florida’s two pick-sixes covered 90 yards; their offense didn’t pick up 90 yards until midway through the 3rd quarter. Florida’s longest drive was also their sole scoring one, a 46-yard FG drive that featured a somewhat-dubious personal foul penalty on Devin Bush (that was nearly, inexplicably, considered targeting) and a 34-yard strike to Hammond in which Hill had solid coverage and Franks simply put it to the outside shoulder.

Beyond that, Michigan’s defense simply choked the life out of Florida both on the ground and in the air. The Gators finished the day with 11 yards on 27 carries, a performance that significantly eclipsed the futility displayed both in 27-for-27 and 2016 Rutgers. Florida’s credited with 181 yards in the air, but 70 of those came on their last 2 meaningless drives, while the bulk of the remainder came on the aforementioned bomb to Hammond and another to Cleveland, himself well-covered. But that’s it. Florida had months to prepare and guru-approved talent at key spots, and they simply looked outclassed the whole day on the offensive side of the field. Hell, Florida threw up the proverbial surrender cobra early, trotting out Malik Zaire to replace Franks despite his (reasonable) struggles picking up the full playbook in a couple of months.

And more to the point, Michigan’s defense snuffed out any chance Florida had to sustain their momentum after scoring a quick 14 points on defense. After the Gators successfully blocked a Michigan punt and were in prime position to add to their 7-point lead, the defense held firm, forcing Florida into a 47-yard FG that they missed, and that was the last time Florida seriously threatened the score on the day.

Michigan finished the day with 11 TFLs for 41 yards, including 6 sacks and a defensive TD on a forced fumble in the endzone where Chase Winovich absolutely demolished Zaire. The defensive line, led by Hurst and Gary, dominated the line of scrimmage, repeatedly driving blockers into the backfield and denying attempts to run around the edge of the defense. In what I assume are just the first of many suck highlights, both Hurst and Gary ran down Florida backs as they tried to find gaps near the sidelines, destroying plays they (frankly) have no business even being close to. The linebackers, led by Devin Bush’s 7 tackles, 3 TFLs, and 2 sacks, never let Florida get into the open field consistently, and guys like Metellus, Hill, and Hudson showed little drop-off from the acclaimed players they replaced in the lineup. As a team, they forced 3 fumbles, including one on special teams, and tacked on 5 pass breakups, especially impressive when you consider they only faced 26 pass attempts.

Honestly, watching Florida felt like watching those later Hoke teams. The defense was stout and could keep you in games, but the offense rarely seemed able to string along drives, and at some point what you’re doing on defense gets downloaded and countered by good coaching staffs, exhaustion sets in, and you start seeing 3-yard runs turn into 6- and 8-yarders. Michigan so dominated Florida’s offense that it broke their defense, and that’s way more exciting to be on the other end of that revelation.

Now, I will say this now – this year’s defense is not as talented as last year’s. That isn’t an indictment of the current roster; they’re just young, and expecting freshmen and sophomores, even really talented ones, to replace that level of productivity is foolish. And it’s only been one game against a team with a middling offense at best; let’s see how they look against Air Force, Purdue, and then Penn State. But still, the one consistent drumbeat we’ve heard about Don Brown is that the first year is the learning experience and after that, his defenses make significant strides. Now, it’s virtually impossible for him to improve on last year’s dominant defense, but the team looked far less confused out there than at times last season, and most of these guys have either been in the system for a year or were recruited specifically with it in mind. It isn’t beyond the pale that this year’s defense replicates the same general production/stinginess as last year’s, and if that’s the case, there’s no reason Michigan can’t ride that dominance to a conference title.

Best: Glycerine

Devin Bush had himself a game. As noted earlier, he had 3 TFLs for 14 yards, including 2 sacks, and was singularly disruptive on a dozen plays that didn’t even show up in the boxscore. A moment that stood out to me was on the drive following the blocked punt, Florida caught the Michigan defense a bit flat-footed on 3rd down. Even while some of the other defensive players didn’t have proper positioning, Bush sniffed out the run immediately, help string it out toward the sideline, and met the back in the gap. It was clear that part of Florida’s gameplan was to test Michigan’s linebackers and their ability to cover sideline-to-sideline, and Bush in particular showed the type of burst and pursuit ability that will be essential going against teams like PSU and OSU down the line. And in Don Brown’s defense, Bush’s combination of speed and size is only going to become more of a weapon.

Meh: Well, the Music Was Nice

I honestly don’t know the angle to take when discussing Speight’s game this week. On the one hand, he had some nice throws into tight windows, especially on that opening drive of the second half that put Michigan ahead for good. His dart to Perry that got Michigan into the redzone was spot-on, and some of his incompletions, especially in the second half, were safe throwaways when his receivers were covered and/or miscommunications with a starting receiving corps that came into the game with a career total of 34 catches, 27 of them by Grant Perry. And looking at the schedule right now, Florida probably has the 2nd- or 3rd-best defense he’ll face all year, depending on your view of Wisconsin, and was able to generate decent pressure with 4-5 rushers against Michigan’s re-jiggered offensive line. They would have struggled somewhat throwing the ball against this defense even with last year’s receiving options.

That said…

Speight finished the day with his second-lowest completion percentage of his career (44%, the only lower being the 42% he recorded @ Iowa last year), more TDs credited to Florida DBs (2) than his own receivers (1), and stretches where he just looked lost out there. So if you’re asking me how this night at the playhouse went, well…

During that disastrous stretch in the second quarter that was the sum-total of Florida’s momentum in this game, Speight not only threw 2 pick-sixes, but he also threw a cross pattern about a yard behind Crawford, sailed another ball out of bounds, and nearly fumbled when he tried to pull back a throw while under duress, “saved” by the fact he spiked the ball as his arm flew forward. Brian often mentioned during the lead-up to this season that there are two Speights: efficient, intelligent Harbaugh Speight that’s one of the best passers in the league, and Borges/Hoke Speight, a statue who guides his throws and seems flummoxed by the rush. Get the prior and Michigan is terrifying; get the latter and Michigan is also terrifying, but for completely different reasons. In this game you saw both, and again, that’s understandable in spurts; if this opening weekend taught us anything, it’s that college football players aren’t robots and knocking off the rust may take a week or two, doubly so as so many new players get integrated into the offense.

And the offensive playcalling definitely changed once Michigan went up 9. Much like MSU last year, the coaches seemingly recognized that Florida’s only chance to score would be due to miscues by Michigan’s offense, so they shortened the playbook and played conservatively. Speight had one or two reads on a pass play and then it was either out or to the sidelines. More generally, the team had trouble staying out of 3rd-and-long (their average distance for a first was 7.5 yards), and the playcalling reflected that (Michigan ran on about half of their 3rd- and 4th-down chances). Other than that first second-half drive, Speight wasn’t asked to stretch the field and he didn’t, and that seemed by design as much as his limitations.

So honestly, I don’t even want to read too much into this week’s performance one way or another. Nothing Speight (or really anyone on the offense) does exists in a vacuum; he’s behind a new offensive line still figuring itself out (in particular, Ulizio struggled mightily against edge rushers), throwing to receivers who were bit players or getting ready for homecoming last year, and working in an offense that is still trying to wed Harbaugh’s bread-and-butter run offense with more passing spread concepts. He can’t play like this and expect to keep his job going forward, but growing pains like this aren’t unexpected. If he’s still missing receivers against Cincinnati and Air Force, then there’s reason to worry. But for now, it’s a mediocre performance in a comfortable win, and leave it at that.

Somewhat-Best: Qualified Smash

There were times during this game when I didn’t really understand the playcalling as it pertained to the running game. The one identifiable Gator strength you heard all week was their defensive line and linebackers, especially against the run. Despite the tire fire that has been their offense since the days of Meyer and Tebow, their defense has largely remained stalwart, averaging a top-10 ranking in S&P the last 5 years. On the other side of the line, Michigan was basically breaking in 3 new starters and dealing with an additional position switch as Cole moved out to left tackle. While Cole and (to a lesser extent) Bredeson are known commodities, Kugler is a 5th-year senior making his first career start, and both Onwenu and Ulizio are seeing the first meaningful snaps of their collegiate careers. And yet, repeatedly Michigan tried to establish an inside running game and, more times than not, were met with minimal success. Yes, when Ulizio could get his hands on a defender he typically could remain engaged and get some push, and Cole and Kugler seemed pretty good at getting to defenders on the second level, but early on it felt like downs were wasted trying to get 2 or 3 yards between the tackles.

On paper, you look at about 5.5 ypc (sacks excised) and figure Michigan was consistently gashing the Gator front 7. And yet, if you look at the play breakdown, you’d see Michigan ran for nearly the same number of yards on 3rd and 4th down (78) than they did on 1st and 2nd (90) until the last couple of drives in the 4th quarter when Florida was just sorta playing out the string. On the one hand, it was great playcalling in obvious passing downs, mitigating a weakness (pass blocking) by going against tendency and using Florida’s aggressiveness against them. On the other hand, it goosed the rushing stats quite a bit in game situations that aren’t sustainable going forward; team’s aren’t going to keep falling for Michigan running on third-and-forever. Throw out those 78 yards on 7 carries and Michigan’s top 3 rushers averaged 4.3 yards on 33 carries, closer to 3.5 yards per carry before garbage time. That’s not abysmal by any stretch, but the one consistent stat last year was that Michigan’s line struggled against good rush defenses, and that was with an older and more cohesive (if inconsistent) line.

To Florida’s credit, a lot of these struggles were due to their front four being able to hold up without blitzing, leaving linebackers free to shoot gaps and stop runs from breaking outside. And as with the passing game, first-game jitters might explain away some missed blocks and poor angles. And Evans, Isaac, and Higdon all showcased what makes them great. Evans was elusive and showed new power as he surged past the line. Isaac looked like a work-horse back, consistently breaking free from initial contact and beating speedy defenders to their spots. And Higdon ran behind his pads all day, displaying the balance and power we saw last year on one memorable run where he broke multiple tackles and turned what should have been a 3-yard loss into a 3-yard gain, punctuated by him bounding into the chest of a Florida DT. There’s a really good rushing attack in that group; I just think this particular box score makes it look a bit prettier than it was.

But yeah, Nordin had himself a day. He connected on 2 50+ yard FGs, made 4 of 6 attempts overall, and generally looked like the elite talent he was supposed to be out of high school. Yeah, #CollegeKickers and all that, but if Nordin’s range truly is 50+, that can dramatically change the complexion of this offense. An elite kicker is both a shield and a sword for an offense, letting you take some chances downfield while also leaving the option open to, say, run the ball on 3rd down when at the end of that range. And it forces defenses to stay honest with longer attempts, opening the door for fakes without tipping one’s hand. Outside of the friendly confines of a dome his range will vary more, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Nordin tried a 60-yarder on a particularly blustery day at Michigan Stadium.

Quick Hits

The offensive line wasn’t really good; my guess is the UFR will be pretty ugly. Still, it wasn’t unexpected against Florida, and my hope is that they’ll make marked improvement as they get more comfortable. That said, pass blocking will likely remain an issue all year simply because guys like Ulizio and Cole aren’t prototypical tackles, and that’s going to put a premium on the backs and TEs to chip in. My gut feeling is that Isaac probably gets the nod in those instances because he’s big enough to hold up for a bit AND also a danger in the passing game, but we’ll have to see. As always, keeping Speight upright will be paramount to this team’s success, as the backup QB situation looks unsettled.

Sean McKeon may well be the starting TE on this team. He showed solid athleticism on his routes, strong hands, and didn’t seem like a total disaster blocking. With the exception of maybe Wheatley, it’s hard to imagine any of the TEs being even average blockers, so I could see Michigan just leaning into that skid and deploying the three of them (including Bunting) more often as a means to get mismatches with LBs and smaller corners.

I am all for player safety, but it feels like the referees are quick to assume any contact north of a player’s chest to be targeting. Both times it was under review in this game, the play was clearly part of a defender’s normal play and any contact to the head was incidental at worst. Player safety needs to be number 1, but this feels like a confusing half-measure that will continue to punish football plays on a subjective level.

Maryland might be pretty good this year; Texas is garbage defensively but 51 points on the road is always going to impress. MSU was fine, but they are light-years away from the type of teams they put out in years past. OSU and Wisconsin broke out after early struggles, but I’m not buying the Badgers offensively, and we’ll have to see how OSU does throwing the ball against Oklahoma. Personally, Barrett looked a bit lost out there, and his numbers were goosed by gobs of YAC due to poor tackling and good play-calls. PSU crushed Akron, but excuse me if beating up on the 107th defense last year doesn’t move the needle too much. It still feels like an offense with issues on the line, and at some point that will derail anyone’s season.

Tarik Black is going to be really good both this year and going forward. Grant Perry will probably fill that Jake Butt “throw it in my general direction” safety valves in this offense. Crawford feels like a #2 trying to be a #1, and my hope is that the offense integrates guys like Black and DPJ quickly. That doesn’t mean any of them are #1s, but these throws might as well be distributed more evenly.

Next Week:

The Bearcats are bad. They’re coached by the last OSU coach Michigan beat. And like seemingly all Tressel-based OSU assistants, he’s going to try to recreate OSU at a lesser program. That might work to make Cincinnati feisty in a couple of years, it’s not going to matter much this week. I expect the passing game to get going early and often, and hopefully we’ll see some more young guys see the field before the inevitable redshirts. Go blue.

When you rewatch game film, you always want to look at specific aspects of the matchup. So what was I looking for when examining the game tape from Michigan's beatdown of Florida?

Offensive Line. Unquestionably in my opinion, the most uncertain part of this team, the OLine could be the difference between beating OSU and PSU and making the CFP and going 9-3. More importantly, I was looking at how Michigan's running backs gained 229 yards against a Florida defensive line that was rated the #2 DLine in the SEC and #8 in the country according to Phil Steele. Could it be that Michigan's run blocking and offensive line is actually going to be good against good run defenses for the first time in recent memory? Or was it a one off?

But first, for reference, this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djqrRfOvp7M) is what I use when I reference specific times for certain clips, if you want to verify my analysis. We'll go through each lineman one by one.

LT Mason Cole

Cole had a very Cole-like game on Saturday, very strong in run blocking, decent in pass blocking, with a couple ghastly pass blocks. He had no individually great run block, but a few where him and LG Ben Bredeson teamed up for big gains.

Highlight #1: 4:14-4:21

The left side of Cole and Bredeson both have a big push, swallowing up the defensive front. Eventually, DL Jachai Polite gets free, but TE Sean McKeon picks him up just enough to let Chris Evans get loose for what should be an easy 10 yard TD run until Evans trips over his own feet, but still gets the first down. A really strong performane by the whole left side of that blocking package.

Highlight #2: 3:21-3:33

This is Ty Isaac's long run on the opening possession. It's a pull play, where Mike Onwenu pulls from the RG to the left side. I would prefer Onwenu to go up field instead of staying in the back field to block a guy who had no shot at getting Isaac. However, it doesn't matter because of Ben Bredeson's big push and contain opening up the hole, letting Isaac get loose. However, in 3rd and 13, the initial push isn't enough. Mason Cole gets 10+ yards down field and is the one that guarantees the first down by finishing the block on DB Chauncey Gardner. Another great combo by the left side.

Highlight #3: 11:02-11:11

This was not a good play due to sloppy play from the right side. Jon Runyan Jr. subbed in for RG Mike Onwenu and completely whiffs on the block and forces the pulling Bredeson to clean it up. However, the mere fact Evans could get three yards is due to Cole's ability to block two dudes on the outside and create just enough of a hole.

High (Low)light #4: 30:11-

Unfortunately we have to include one really bad miss in pass pro, and it came on Michigan's last offensive play. This was not the best play for anyone on the offensive line, but two simple pushes and Cole lets Jordan Sherit blow right by him and take a shot at Speight. Ugly

LG Ben Bredeson

Highlight #1: 6:31-6:44

This is Chris Evans' big runs. A simple pull play where Mike Onwenu comes across and mauls a man and Ben Bredeson steps up and delivers a really terrific block. Mason Cole gets up field and takes one guy, while Sean McKeon seal blocks the other and Evans' generally slipperyness allows him to run it for a big gain. But those huge blocks by the young guards create the initial hole.

Highlight #2: 20:21-20:27

With Michigan facing a long 3rd down, they give it to Ty Isaac hoping to ensure being in FG range. This is one of Nolan Ulizio's only good plays and he and Sean McKeon hold the right side well with a strong push and Mike Onwenu has another great block. But the play needs a strong Bredeson push on the pull in order for Isaac to get the Wolverines in field goal range. Bredeson pulls and delivers a good block and Isaac gets 7.

High (Low)light #3: 20:13-20:20

As a whole, Ben Bredeson had a really good day run blocking, and was pretty darn good in pass blocking as well. However, of the 4 plays I identified where he struggled in pass pro, 3 were a 4 man rush with a left side twist. This play is pretty simple. Florida rushes 4, but the left DE and DT twist, where the DT goes outside and the DE goes inside. Bredeson follows the DT and ends up helping Cole with a double team while leaving the DE completely unblocked to take a straight shot at Speight, forcing him to hurry and throw behind Kekoa Crawford.

C Patrick Kugler

Kugler didn't have a lot of memorable highlights, which is generally a good thing, especially for a center. His best moments were honestly some of the plays that we've already seen, setting blocks, plus one more. His worst moment was the false start penalty for double clutching the ball. He was really solid and I honestly don't have many highlights here, just one.

Highlight: 4:30-4:40

Ty Isaac has a long run up the middle, and it's great interior blocking by Bredeson, Onwenu, and Kugler that springs the hole. But Kugler is the impressive one, as it's between him and Bredeson that the hole opens. He manhandles DL Khari Clark, who is no push over, and opens up a big hole.

RG Mike Onwenu

In Onwenu's first game as a starter, he had a day that was pretty clear cut. If he got his hands on a guy, he at least held steady, but most of the time, he mauled them. He's like the trash compacter, a wall closing in to crunch you. However, the moments where he stood out negatively were technical, missing an assignment/blocking the wrong guy or a late jump off the snap.

Highlight #1: 14:13-14:19

Yes, this play is a sack, due to Nolan Ulizio being awful, but Mike Onwenu has himself a ferocious block in pass pro, despite a late snap, which is what is so impressive. DL Taven Bryan beats him off the snap to the inside, but Onwenu adjusts and follows him and pile drives Bryan into the ground.

Highlight #2: 15:54-16:03

A nice gain by Chris Evans thanks to a solid block by Kugler to the inside and a monster block by Onwenu. Matched up against Taven Bryan again, Bryan gets one step and Onwenu proceeds to put him on the turf, opening a massive hole. Henry Poggi picks up the block and Evans follows him down field.

High (Low)light #3: 3:02-3:08

An Eddie McDoom end around is unaffected by this Onwenu miss but he totally whiffs on his block and allows his man to get right by him.

RT Nolan Ulizio

This was really, really ugly. We knew RT was going to be a problem, and the film makes it look worse. 2 of the 3 sacks of a Michigan QB were with Ulizio at fault, and run blocking wasn't much better.

Lowlight #1: 3:09-3:16

DL Jordan Sherit is matched up with Ulizio. One simple swim move and boom, Sherit blows by Ulizio for the sack.

Lowlight #2: 18:47-18:54

Ulizio for some reason decides to double team the DT instead of taking the edge rusher, allowing Sherit to get free and chase after Speight on the roll out, forcing Wilton to throw it away.

Conclusion

After rewatching the game film, and focusing on all 69 (nice) offensive plays that Michigan ran, I will say I was actually pretty encouraged by the offensive line's performance. Kugler was better than I expected and Bredeson's improvement was highly visible. He has the makings of a young elite guard. Mason Cole was Mason Cole which is definitely a good thing. Mike Onwenu for the most part was really encouraging. Physically, he's a monster. There needs to be some cleaning up in the timing and pre-snap assignments, which I think can be fixed with improvement as game play goes along. But on a given play where Kugler holds steady and Onwenu gets his hands on a guy, along with Bredeson, Michigan is going to spring some big rushes. Last season, in the three losses to Iowa, OSU, and FSU, Michigan RB's rushed for 3.3, 2.7, and 3.2 yards per carry, respecitvely. In this game, Michigan RB's rushed for 5.3 yards per carry, facing what this website considered to be a strong rush defense, as well as most other analysts, like Phil Steele. Not every rush was a big rush, and there were some for losses, but it was overall a really strong blocking game for Michigan. And this was, according to Phil Steele, the second best defensive line Michigan will see, behind Ohio State.

Rushing games are so important, and if Michigan had been able to grind out a few first downs against OSU and Iowa, a 12-0 season would've been possible. With Onwenu and Bredeson both as sophomores, this offensive line looks like it has the making of something special down the road, but also being good enough to have Michigan within striking distance of a B1G title and a CFP appearance. Pass protection was pretty solid overall, but the glaring issue remains at RT. Despite Ulizio being pretty terrible in this game, Michigan was able to dominate a team with what is normally an elite defense. However, it is imperative in the next few weeks to either a) try out Runyan Jr. and see if that goes any better or b) draw up more blocking packages that give Ulizio TE help. It's hard not to like what we saw from the rushing game and the OLine overall in this one, but there is definitely room for improvement.

Id rather stick a firecracker in my dick hole than watch Zaire play quarterback again.
Georgia is going to gouge our eyeballs out and skull fuck us. I also hope mac's wife leaves him after this shit
This was like one of those times when we have a really good D and they hold some cupcake to a ridiculous amount of yards and we all laugh, except this was us being cornholed by booger eating Harbaugh on national tv.
That looked like the bowl game 2 years ago, when meatchicken bent us over the barrell.
They mock us at the halftime show, hehe
I miss the days when we played Eastern Michigan for the first game instead of real Michigan
It's adults beating up on kids
My kids, 9 and 12 years old, say the offensive coach sucks.
Our coach is the laughing stock of the world
This game is making my dick soft and I paid $250 for my ticket
Fuck it I'm getting drunk
Anybody got a good rope and a sturdy ceiling fan?
A Big Ten opponent has superior athletes. Let that sink in.
Mac should be kiffined right on the field... don't even let him get to the airport
I wonder if Gray is impressed with our offense yet
They sure have Florida's number.
We broke the huddle with 12 guys. Probably because it seems like Michigan is rushing 14 or 15 guys on every play
Maybe we'll beat Michigan before I die.
I feel like 1000 invisible midgets are attacking me
Punt and give our D a chance to score.
Can we post our sad/depressed threads yet? It's all I've got left.
19 months since the last beat down by Mich. Not much has changed sadly.
Damn you Michigan

By the way, we suck. Again.
We lost to a school that has a $#@!ing turtle as their mascot. A Turtle....
I came home from the game and passed out....just waking up and realizing that wasn't a bad dream....it was real.
Wake me up when we hire Saban......
Charlie's cake was baked with rotten eggs and Herman just sneezed a big snotty sneeze right into the icing for good measure and now we've all got food poisoning
On the bright side, at least it wasn't Rutgers.
The only good thing I saw today was Herman’s wife walking off the field with those huge jugs, pure smoke
19 point favorites. Lost by 10. At home. In an opener.
Is there enough lube left on campus to take another one of these games. I think not!
At least we have sick lockers!
TIME TO GET DRUNK!!!
Texas should be forced to use the visitors locker room for the rest of the year.
We're everybody's homecoming game
$#@! you Tom Herman
At least we were Top 25 for a while.
Can Maryland even score 51 points in basketball?
This week has been a beating, first the hurricane and now this. $#@!ing hell.
Maybe we'll punch San Diego St in the mouth.
maryland coach smiled entire game
Trash team deserves trash thrown at it
I wish i was there to throw stuff
The best Texas HS players don't want to come here. They want to keep their NFL dreams alive.
I have two children who have never seen a good Texas team.

The hot tubs caught a lot of joking on the TV coverage
Sure hope Ash can recruit because his coaching leaves a lot to be desired
I like Ash but man his face always looks like he is about to crap himself
We are running out the clock on ourselves. Guess the coaches gave up too
Half the stadium and 90 perecent of students have bolted
There's the classic Schiano over pursue defense
It was entertaining for two quarters longer than I expected
Excitement and hope turns to depression and despair in 15 quick minutes
Our offensive philosophy is still dogshit
Here comes the blowout. Ash sucks !!
Same old BS. Maybe we'll get a participation trophy for covering the spread...assuming we cover the spread
Fire ash

At least we are getting sympathy calls now
At least the Marching Chiefs are trying
The narrative of Jimbo Fisher being an offenisve genius/best play caller in the country bs makes me sick
Our cheerleaders are hotter
Tonight could not have not gone worse
Whoever is in charge of this mess should have to hitchhike back to Tallahassee
We will win this game....... I’m declaring it right now
Our special teams isn't the type of special you're looking for
We have the worst kicker in the history of kickers

You would think that 5 million/year would get you a coach that could hold on to a 44-10 lead late in the third quarter
All my A&M gear just went into the Harvey donation box
Bailure: "Nothing is more embarrassing in an opener then getting beat by an online school" A&M: "Hold my beer"
GOD I HATE YOU SUMLIN.....AND CHIEF YOU ARE RIGHT THERE AS WELL
Nobody could lose that game...
We'll be in highlight videos for years! Again.
We sux more D than hoe in the red light district.
Lol.....we thought tu and Baylol was the laughing stock. Boy were we wrong
What an embarrassing weekend for TX fooball across the board.
Don't let Sumlin on the plane
Im off to Google "autoerotic asphyxiation"
We need the gatorade spiked with Viagra at every halftime
Number 81 is jizzing all over us and we sit there taking it like a bunch of little *****es
This is like watching a train wreck
I want someone to go stick a gatorade bottle up sumlin's anal cavity
Staff is doing clean up and deleting threads about the pimp stick - lol
Sumlin should be beat with that thing
I can't even. These coaches need their asses sent to Guantanamo
Mora cant believe it, sumlin is going to save his job.
How do the players just not punch him in the face is beyond me

"It is pleasant, when the sea is high and the winds are dashing the waves about, to watch from the shores the struggles of another" -Livy